An IELTS collocations list can show you that English speakers say pose a threat and strike a balance. It cannot, by itself, tell you whether your evidence supports the claim, which side of the cause belongs first, or what grammar completes the phrase.
That is where memorized collocations fail. A candidate remembers give rise to and writes:
"The rise of cities gave a rise to people to move."
The phrase is recognizable, but its fixed form and sentence pattern are broken. More importantly, the sentence makes a causal claim without explaining it.
IELTS assesses Lexical Resource in both Speaking and Writing. The official descriptions focus on vocabulary range together with accurate and appropriate use. A useful collocation is therefore not a decorative phrase. It is a compact decision about meaning, grammar, and strength.
A compact IELTS collocations list
Each row includes a complete pattern and a boundary.
| Collocation | Useful pattern | What it says | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| tend to | X tends to + base verb | X usually follows a pattern, with room for exceptions | Not always; not tend to doing; not a one-time plan |
| largely due to | X is largely due to + noun phrase | One factor explains most, but not necessarily all, of X | Use largely because + clause; do not read largely as completely |
| stem from | outcome stems from source | An outcome or condition originates in a source | Direction matters; no passive is stemmed from |
| give rise to | cause gives rise to + noun phrase | A cause produces a situation or result | No article in give rise to; the phrase asserts causation |
| pose a threat to | source poses a threat to target | Something could harm the target | Potential danger is not completed harm or harmful intent |
| strike a balance | strike a balance between X and Y | Weigh competing aims without discarding either | Not necessarily equal; both sides must be named or clear |
Six patterns you can retrieve and control are more useful than fifty combinations you can only recognize.
1. Tend to: generalize without saying always
Tend to + base verb presents a normal or likely pattern while allowing exceptions.
"People tend to replace electronic devices before they stop working."
This is useful in Speaking Part 3 and Writing Task 2, where broad questions invite generalization. It is also natural in Speaking Part 1 for personal habits: I tend to study early in the morning.
The boundary is certainty. Tend to does not supply a percentage and does not make the pattern universal. If the prompt gives one isolated event, it is usually the wrong frame. The council tends to open a new bridge tomorrow sounds like a repeated habit, not a plan.
Form: use a base verb after to: tend to buy, not tend to buying. In the negative, tend not to buy and the more conversational don't tend to buy are both possible.
Use it when the claim is a pattern. Do not add it automatically to every sentence in the name of “hedging.”
2. Largely due to: identify the main share, not the only cause
Largely means for the most part. In a cause pattern, it lets you identify the dominant factor while leaving room for a smaller remainder.
"The decline in town-centre shopping is largely due to the growth of online retail."
The noun-phrase frame is largely due to + noun phrase. With a full clause, use largely because + clause:
"Town-centre shopping has declined largely because consumers can compare prices online."
Do not treat largely as entirely. The first example leaves open other causes such as parking costs or changes in commuting. It also does not describe physical size: sales rose largely does not clearly mean that sales rose sharply.
This collocation is useful when your answer can defend a main-cause judgment. If you merely know that two changes happened together, largely due to overclaims the evidence.
3. Stem from: put the outcome before its source
Stem from traces an outcome, problem, difference, or improvement to its origin.
"Resistance to the policy may stem from a lack of clear information."
The direction is outcome stems from source. That is the reverse of source leads to outcome:
"A lack of clear information may lead to resistance."
The two sentences make the same directional claim with a different order. This is a frequent source of error when candidates learn whole phrases without learning their slots.
Use a modal or limiting word if the source is uncertain or only partial: may stem from, stems partly from, stems from a combination of. The phrase can introduce a positive result too: The improvement stems largely from better teacher training. It does not carry a negative meaning by itself.
Avoid is stemmed from and is stemming from for this causal sense. Write the problem stems from... or the problem stemmed from....
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →4. Give rise to: move from cause to result
Give rise to points in the other direction: cause gives rise to outcome.
"Rapid population growth can give rise to pressure on housing and transport."
Its form is fixed. There is no article before rise, and the word is rise, not raise. The verb changes normally: gives rise to, gave rise to, has given rise to.
The object after to is a noun phrase naming what comes into existence: pressure, concerns, a debate, new opportunities. The pattern does not take a person plus an infinitive. Write the evidence caused the committee to review the plan, not gave rise to the committee to review the plan.
Most importantly, give rise to asserts causation. It is formal enough for Writing Task 2 and can fit an analytical Part 3 answer, but formality does not make an unsupported claim true. If the facts only show timing, use coincided with or was followed by.
Compare the cause pair:
"Unequal access to training may give rise to a skills gap."
"A skills gap may stem from unequal access to training."
The first begins with the source; the second begins with the outcome. Choose the pattern that gives your paragraph the clearer information order.
5. Pose a threat to: name potential harm accurately
X poses a threat to Y says that X is or could be a source of harm to Y.
"Prolonged drought poses a threat to food production."
The drought is the source of danger; food production is what could be harmed. Reversing them reverses the meaning.
The phrase does not say the harm has happened, how likely it is, or whether anyone intends it. Add that information separately: may pose a threat, poses a serious threat, poses little threat, poses no threat.
Keep two frames separate:
- a threat to coastal communities names what could be harmed;
- the threat of flooding names the possible harm.
The verbs threaten, endanger, and jeopardize take direct objects in the danger sense: drought threatens crops, not threatens to crops. Threaten to + verb is another valid pattern: the river threatens to overflow.
This collocation is useful in environment, health, technology, and policy arguments, but it should not be your default synonym for problem. A long commute can pose a problem for workers; calling every inconvenience a threat inflates the claim.
6. Strike a balance: weigh two competing aims
Strike a balance between X and Y says that a decision weighs two competing aims while preserving something important from each.
"Cities need to strike a balance between affordable transport and the cost of maintaining it."
The phrase does not promise a 50–50 split. It also does not remove the tension. It names the weighting that results from considering both sides.
Both items need to be present or obvious. Governments should strike a balance is grammatical but incomplete as an argument. Balance what against what?
Keep the neighboring ideas clear:
- a trade-off names the exchange: gaining more of one thing may mean accepting less of another;
- a compromise often focuses on concessions or an agreement;
- strike a balance focuses on the resulting weighting.
These ideas can describe the same decision from different angles, so do not force a distinction when the context does not support one. The dependable frame is between X and Y, and the past form is struck a balance, not striked.
Use collocations as claim patterns
The six collocations can form a small reasoning chain:
"Consumers tend to choose the cheapest delivery option. This is largely due to the fact that environmental costs are not visible at checkout. That lack of information can give rise to unnecessary demand, while the resulting traffic poses a threat to air quality in dense neighbourhoods. The problem may stem from pricing, but the solution must strike a balance between affordability and lower emissions."
The paragraph is not stronger because it contains six collocations. In fact, using all six in one exam paragraph could sound crowded. It is useful as a diagnostic because every phrase makes a checkable claim:
- Is there really a repeated pattern?
- Does one factor explain most of the outcome?
- Is the causal direction correct?
- Does the evidence justify causation?
- Is the harm potential or already observed?
- Are there genuinely two competing aims?
In an actual response, select only the patterns the argument needs.
Speaking and Writing need different delivery, not different meanings
The meaning and grammar of a collocation do not change between IELTS Speaking and Writing. Delivery does.
In Speaking, a shorter frame may sound more natural:
"People tend to drive because buses are unreliable."
In Writing Task 2, the claim may need a more explicit source and limit:
"Reliance on private cars appears to stem partly from unreliable bus services, although housing patterns also contribute."
The written version is not better because it is longer. It carries a more carefully bounded causal claim. Give rise to can also sound natural in a developed Part 3 answer when it fits. There is no rule assigning one collocation to speech and another to writing.
Common collocation mistakes
- Memorizing only the center of the phrase. Learn the slots: outcome stems from source; source gives rise to outcome.
- Using an advanced phrase to hide weak evidence. Largely due to and give rise to make causal claims; the vocabulary does not prove them.
- Dropping a fixed word. It is give rise to, pose a threat to, and strike a balance between X and Y.
- Turning qualification into vagueness. Tend to and largely limit a claim; they should not replace the claim.
- Forcing density. One accurate collocation can do more work than four inserted because they look advanced.
Quick check
1. The scenario states that limited access caused a participation gap. Which sentence preserves that causal direction?
A. "Limited access stems from a participation gap." B. "A participation gap may stem from limited access." C. "A participation gap is stemmed from limited access."
2. Survey data shows cost explains most objections, but not all. Which sentence fits?
A. "The objections are largely due to cost." B. "The objections are entirely due to cost." C. "Cost gives rise the objections."
3. Which sentence names potential harm without claiming it happened?
A. "Heat poses a threat to older residents." B. "Heat makes a threat to older residents." C. "Older residents pose a threat to heat."
4. Which sentence makes both competing aims clear?
A. "The policy strikes balance." B. "The policy strikes a balance of safety with access." C. "The policy strikes a balance between safety and access."
Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-A, 4-C. Stem from places the outcome first and takes no passive. Largely preserves the stated remainder. Pose a threat to names the danger source and what could be harmed. Strike a balance needs the article and the between X and Y frame.
Controlled practice
Choose one IELTS Speaking Part 3 or Writing Task 2 question. Write four sentences:
- one careful generalization with tend to;
- one cause–result sentence with either stem from or give rise to;
- one risk sentence with pose a threat to only if real potential harm is involved;
- one recommendation using strike a balance between X and Y.
Then remove any collocation whose claim you cannot defend. That final deletion step is part of vocabulary control.
If you want to practise choosing collocations by meaning and boundary rather than memorizing them as a list, try Lyra Practice.
Sources
- IELTS Academic Speaking test format — IELTS
- IELTS Academic Writing test format — IELTS
- IELTS scoring in detail — IELTS
Related
- IELTS Vocabulary Practice
- Exam English Vocabulary Practice
- IELTS Vocabulary for Cause and Effect
- IELTS Vocabulary for Advantages and Disadvantages
- IELTS Vocabulary for Environment
- Why Memorizing Band 9 Vocabulary Isn't Enough for IELTS
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